Lighthearter
President of the United States
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away . . .
The Galactic Empire has crumbled, internal dissent tearing it apart. Even the mighty Imperial Fleet has been wrecked, leaving many independent systems struggling on alone. But new galactic federations are rising. Warlord Zsinj has united a string of worlds from Dathomir to Taris and the Rebel Alliance moves to take advantage of the situation. In the heart of the Old Empire, Coruscant, the New Galactic Empire under Ysanne Isard makes ready to do battle with both Zsinj and the Rebels, seeking to restore order - and the Empire - to the galaxy.
In this time of chaos, great leaders arise on their homeworlds, seeking to create a new galactic order of one kind or another - at any cost.
The Game
Note: Inspired by Imperium Offtopicum
This is a political and military simulation of the Star Wars galaxy. In it you build Star Destroyers, command X-wing squadrons, negotiate hyperspace travel rights, sell glitterstim spice - about anything you can think of that you'd do in Star Wars. And in this section, I'll tell you how to go about it all. In the end you decide what you want your nation's goal to be - survival, conquest, good relations with neighbors, perhaps the defeat of that warmongering empire next door? Whatever you choose there are two rules that come above all else in this game:
Rule#1: The Game-Master(GM) is absolute.
This means that I am the ultimate authority. You do not argue with me. If I see a problem I will kick you from the game. If I tell you that you cannot research something YOU DON'T ARGUE. You just don't research it. I can make your nation burn in fire and death even without kicking you, so play nice.
Now with the unpleasant stuff out of the way, here's the next rule!
Rule #2: Have fun!
The point of this game is to just have fun playing a Star Wars ruler - if you're not having fun then you're doing something wrong. If someone or something in the thread or rules is keeping you from the fun, just talk to me about it and I'll see what I can do. DO NOT argue and yell in the thread. Spam is unappreciated and will be noted by the GM.
How to Play:
Create a nation by filling in this format:
Nation Name
Government Type: (Empire, Republic, etc. Pretty much anything you can think of - even a theocracy!)
Leader: (A character name)
Citizens: (Example: Bothans first class, humans & Ewoks second and all others third)
Color: (Insert color other then black or dark blue. Color must not already be taken.)
Claims: (Insert modified map with your nation's claims shown in its color. Suggest they are also circled so I can see them easier. See claiming rules for more information.)
Capital: (Insert capital system. And city if you wish)
Fleet: (Insert list of ships - see Fleet rules for more information.
Example:
Aggregation - Frigate I - Coruscant
Aggressor - Destroyer I - Coruscant
Instigator - Cruiser I - Kuat
Victimizer - Battleship I - Coruscant
Victorious - Corvette I - Kuat
Indefatigable - Corvette I - Hoth
Red Squadron - Fighter I - Hoth
Blue Squadron - Fighter I - Yavin IV
Gold Squadron - Bomber I - Yavin IV
Orange Squadron - Bomber I - Thyferra)
Technology: (Insert list of techs from your starting 5 Research Points. See Research for more details.)
Biography: (Insert any history you want and any other information that you want for the nation.)
Claims - You can claim five systems when your nation is first created and three more every subsequent turn. You cannot claim while you are at war unless you use the Colonialism Causus Belli(See Causus Belli).
Systems - Every system will provide one Production Point(See Production) per turn. Every five planets will give you one Research Point(See Research).
Production - Your production points can be used to manufacture ships for your fleet along this cost pattern:
Fighter/Bomber: 1
Corvette: 2
Frigate/Cruiser: 3
Destroyer: 4
Battleship: 6
You begin with 50 points to manufacture a starting fleet, in addition to a Battleship, two Fighters, two Bombers, one Corvette and one Destroyer. You cannot manufacture a Battleship beyond your existing one as part of your starting fleet. Your starting Battleship will ALWAYS be in orbit above your capital at the beginning of the game - after that move it to your heart's content!
Fighters, Bombers and Corvettes take only one turn to build, but everything else take more:
Frigate/Cruiser/Destroyer: 2
Battleship: 4
You must pay the cost of the unit every turn it is in production. You may only have one Battleship in production at a time, and you cannot Refit a Battleship while one is under construction without canceling the current order.
You can Repair a unit damaged in combat by paying half its cost rounded down(exception: Fighters and Bombers), in which case it becomes inactive for one turn before coming back fully repaired. The exception is Battleships that have taken more then two points of damage - they take two turns to repair and cannot be repaired unless another Battleship is not under construction, refitting, or repairing from a similar state.
Research - Every Research Point your planets provide allows you to work a technological development. Each unit can be upgraded five times. Each upgrade costs progressively more, with the I-II upgrade only costing 2, but the II-III upgrade costing 3, the III-IV upgrade costing 4 and the IV-V upgrade costing 5. Each upgrade improves the attack and defense rating of the ship by one, to a maximum of eight. Fighters and Bombers are automatically upgraded to the latest version. All other ships must Refit for one turn and half their cost rounded down to be upgraded. All ships can refit and repair at the same time.
Battleships can only be upgraded to level three, but their upgrades cost 3, 5, 6.
Fleets - There are seven types of ships:
- Frigate
- Destroyer
- Cruiser
- Corvette
- Fighters
- Bombers
- Battleship
You MUST keep track of all the ships and squadrons in your fleet, which you must name individually. If you do not then they will be assumed to be rusting in a scrapyard somewhere and thus require a refit to be operational - if you're lucky. Every turn you must post a fleet update like this:
Your systems are color-coded blue, enemy worlds red and allied systems green. Neutral systems are in normal black.
Hyperdrives - All ships except Fighters and Bombers have Hyperdrives and can travel between systems. Fighters and Bombers must travel in the company of a capital ship(read: anything other then a Fighter, Bomber or Corvette) unless you have researched the appropriate level of technology to equip them with Hyperdrives(Bomber II and Fighter III).
Causus Belli - If you declare war without a valid Causus Belli as determined by the game host then you suffer a Stability hit(see Stability). Causus Bellis are granted by the GH(Me: Lighthearter/LH) for various actions like insulting people in the thread(Diplomatic Insult), expanding into someone else's region(Breached Sphere) or mass-production of heavy military ships(Excessive Militarization). There are others, so watch what you do.
Stability - Stability starts at Level 5. You can research five further levels of Stability to increase your nation's ability to cope with traumatic events. Declaring war without a Causus Belli will remove Stability to a level I think fair considering all the parties and factors involved.
Warfare - If you declare war on an opponent then to attack him you must gather ships at a system then attack one of his. You cannot attack a system from two systems simultaneously. There are two methods of resolving a battle.
1): Dice Combat - All ships in fleets are randomly sorted into a battle line of seven ships and reserves. Then the ships facing each other in the line engage each other. The math for that works like this:
I roll a six-sided die. 1-2 the defender wins and the attacker is hit. 5-6 the reverse. 3-4 both sides avoid damage. This occurs for every pair in the line, every round. After a ship is destroyed, I pull a random ship from reserves into the new breach. This continues until one side hits the casualty threshold that the faction leader has PM'd me, resulting in retreat for that side, the field commander of one side orders a general retreat to preserve his command or one side is obliterated entirely(uncommon).
Favored Enemy and Bad Engagement in Dice Combat - The Favored Enemy and Bad Engagement modifiers apply in Dice Combat as well. If a ship is fighting its favored enemy then the opponent loses one chance to hit in exchange for another chance for the ship with the bonus to. So 1-2 attacker 3-4 draw 5-6 defender becomes 1-2-3 attacker 4-5 draw 6 defender or 1 attacker 2-3 draw 4-5-6 defender.
Bad Engagement exchanges one chance for the unit with the penalty to hit for a chance to draw. I.E. 1-2 attacker 3-4-5 draw 6 defender or 1 attacker 2-3-4 draw 5-6 defender.
2): Tactical Combat - In tactical combat you command your forces on a battle grid I have created and try to outmaneuver the enemy with skill.
When a battle is initiated Lighthearter, or a a player with no stake in the fight if he is a participant volunteers as the host. This person handles all dice rolls. The battle will be fought in the Galactic Empires Combat Thread, where the players involved will manage their ships in battle.
All units take one grid square except Battleships, which take three in a line.
Only 7 units per player at a time. Everything else is in Reserves and can be deployed as units are killed as replacements. Battleships count as two units. Each unit has three Statistics - Offense, Defense and Movement.
Movement:
Battleships can move one square.
Frigates, Destroyers and Cruisers can move two.
Corvettes and Bombers can move 3.
Fighters can move 4.
Offense:
Rating of 1-5, with one being lowest:
- Frigate: 3
- Destroyer: 4
- Cruiser: 3
- Corvette: 2
- Fighters: 1
- Bombers: 2
- Battleship: 5
Defense:
- Frigate: 3
- Destroyer: 4
- Cruiser: 2
- Corvette: 1
- Fighters: 2
- Bombers: 1
- Battleship: 4
These numbers are multipliers to a roll of two six-sided dice.
Attack Range:
- Frigate: 2
- Destroyer: 3
- Cruiser: 2
- Corvette: 1(Adjacent)
- Fighters: 1(Adjacent)
- Bombers: 1(Adjacent)
- Battleship: 4
Favored Enemies are units that this unit counters well, and that is represented by an offense and defense bonus in combat with that unit type:
Frigate>Cruiser(+2)
Destroyer>Corvette(+2)
Corvette>Bomber(+2)
Bomber>Destroyer(+2)
Bomber>Battleship(+4)
Fighter>Bomber(+4)
Cruiser>Battleship(+2)
Destroyer>Frigate(+2)
Battleship>Corvette(+4)
Battleship>Frigate(+4)
Corvette>Fighter(+2)
Bad Engagements are offensive penalties when attacking certain units with certain other units.
Fighter>Battleship(-2)
Bomber>Fighter(-2)
Destroyer>Battleship(-2)
Cruiser>Destroyer(-2)
Battleship>Fighter(-2)
Frigate>Bomber(-2)
Corvette>Cruiser(-2)
These numbers as well are modifiers to rolls of two six-sided dice. Combat is handled like this:
Destroyer attacks Corvette. Roll gets 8. Attack bonus added - 12. Favored Enemy bonus is added - 14. Corvette rolls for defense, gets 6. Adds defense modifier - 7. Destroyer hits and kills Corvette. If the Corvette had gotten a higher number then the Destroyer then neither unit would be dead.
Some units take multiple hits to destroy:
Corvette/Fighter/Bomber: 1
Frigate/Cruiser: 2
Destroyer: 3
Battleship: 6
The Yuuzhan Vong - Eventually the Yuuzhan Vong, a species of extragalactic aliens bent on total conquest of the galaxy, will fly in from the edge of known space and declare war on all existing nations. The NPCs and my nation will all form into the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances at that point as well. You cannot make peace with the Vong of your own accord, though they may request peace with you. The Vong will most likely be played by me, though it is possible that my brother Nukeknockout, a Yuuzhan Vong fan, will take over as them. The initial Yuuzhan Vong fleet will be truly enormous, and their level of technology will be roughly equal to the current galactic level - rounded up. Beware them, and know you will most likely have to work together with your most hated enemies when they arrive - which will be randomized. Will it be turn 3? Or will it be turn 69 when the galaxy is all but united? We'll see . . . .
There's the rules - I'll reserve two posts after this to post a map update and then my nation and its claims, then you can start posting and joining!
May the Force be with you.
The Galactic Empire has crumbled, internal dissent tearing it apart. Even the mighty Imperial Fleet has been wrecked, leaving many independent systems struggling on alone. But new galactic federations are rising. Warlord Zsinj has united a string of worlds from Dathomir to Taris and the Rebel Alliance moves to take advantage of the situation. In the heart of the Old Empire, Coruscant, the New Galactic Empire under Ysanne Isard makes ready to do battle with both Zsinj and the Rebels, seeking to restore order - and the Empire - to the galaxy.
In this time of chaos, great leaders arise on their homeworlds, seeking to create a new galactic order of one kind or another - at any cost.
The Game
Note: Inspired by Imperium Offtopicum
This is a political and military simulation of the Star Wars galaxy. In it you build Star Destroyers, command X-wing squadrons, negotiate hyperspace travel rights, sell glitterstim spice - about anything you can think of that you'd do in Star Wars. And in this section, I'll tell you how to go about it all. In the end you decide what you want your nation's goal to be - survival, conquest, good relations with neighbors, perhaps the defeat of that warmongering empire next door? Whatever you choose there are two rules that come above all else in this game:
Rule#1: The Game-Master(GM) is absolute.
This means that I am the ultimate authority. You do not argue with me. If I see a problem I will kick you from the game. If I tell you that you cannot research something YOU DON'T ARGUE. You just don't research it. I can make your nation burn in fire and death even without kicking you, so play nice.
Now with the unpleasant stuff out of the way, here's the next rule!
Rule #2: Have fun!
The point of this game is to just have fun playing a Star Wars ruler - if you're not having fun then you're doing something wrong. If someone or something in the thread or rules is keeping you from the fun, just talk to me about it and I'll see what I can do. DO NOT argue and yell in the thread. Spam is unappreciated and will be noted by the GM.
How to Play:
Create a nation by filling in this format:
Nation Name
Government Type: (Empire, Republic, etc. Pretty much anything you can think of - even a theocracy!)
Leader: (A character name)
Citizens: (Example: Bothans first class, humans & Ewoks second and all others third)
Color: (Insert color other then black or dark blue. Color must not already be taken.)
Claims: (Insert modified map with your nation's claims shown in its color. Suggest they are also circled so I can see them easier. See claiming rules for more information.)
Capital: (Insert capital system. And city if you wish)
Fleet: (Insert list of ships - see Fleet rules for more information.
Example:
Aggregation - Frigate I - Coruscant
Aggressor - Destroyer I - Coruscant
Instigator - Cruiser I - Kuat
Victimizer - Battleship I - Coruscant
Victorious - Corvette I - Kuat
Indefatigable - Corvette I - Hoth
Red Squadron - Fighter I - Hoth
Blue Squadron - Fighter I - Yavin IV
Gold Squadron - Bomber I - Yavin IV
Orange Squadron - Bomber I - Thyferra)
Technology: (Insert list of techs from your starting 5 Research Points. See Research for more details.)
Biography: (Insert any history you want and any other information that you want for the nation.)
Claims - You can claim five systems when your nation is first created and three more every subsequent turn. You cannot claim while you are at war unless you use the Colonialism Causus Belli(See Causus Belli).
Systems - Every system will provide one Production Point(See Production) per turn. Every five planets will give you one Research Point(See Research).
Production - Your production points can be used to manufacture ships for your fleet along this cost pattern:
Fighter/Bomber: 1
Corvette: 2
Frigate/Cruiser: 3
Destroyer: 4
Battleship: 6
You begin with 50 points to manufacture a starting fleet, in addition to a Battleship, two Fighters, two Bombers, one Corvette and one Destroyer. You cannot manufacture a Battleship beyond your existing one as part of your starting fleet. Your starting Battleship will ALWAYS be in orbit above your capital at the beginning of the game - after that move it to your heart's content!
Fighters, Bombers and Corvettes take only one turn to build, but everything else take more:
Frigate/Cruiser/Destroyer: 2
Battleship: 4
You must pay the cost of the unit every turn it is in production. You may only have one Battleship in production at a time, and you cannot Refit a Battleship while one is under construction without canceling the current order.
You can Repair a unit damaged in combat by paying half its cost rounded down(exception: Fighters and Bombers), in which case it becomes inactive for one turn before coming back fully repaired. The exception is Battleships that have taken more then two points of damage - they take two turns to repair and cannot be repaired unless another Battleship is not under construction, refitting, or repairing from a similar state.
Research - Every Research Point your planets provide allows you to work a technological development. Each unit can be upgraded five times. Each upgrade costs progressively more, with the I-II upgrade only costing 2, but the II-III upgrade costing 3, the III-IV upgrade costing 4 and the IV-V upgrade costing 5. Each upgrade improves the attack and defense rating of the ship by one, to a maximum of eight. Fighters and Bombers are automatically upgraded to the latest version. All other ships must Refit for one turn and half their cost rounded down to be upgraded. All ships can refit and repair at the same time.
Battleships can only be upgraded to level three, but their upgrades cost 3, 5, 6.
Fleets - There are seven types of ships:
- Frigate
- Destroyer
- Cruiser
- Corvette
- Fighters
- Bombers
- Battleship
You MUST keep track of all the ships and squadrons in your fleet, which you must name individually. If you do not then they will be assumed to be rusting in a scrapyard somewhere and thus require a refit to be operational - if you're lucky. Every turn you must post a fleet update like this:
Your systems are color-coded blue, enemy worlds red and allied systems green. Neutral systems are in normal black.
Hyperdrives - All ships except Fighters and Bombers have Hyperdrives and can travel between systems. Fighters and Bombers must travel in the company of a capital ship(read: anything other then a Fighter, Bomber or Corvette) unless you have researched the appropriate level of technology to equip them with Hyperdrives(Bomber II and Fighter III).
Causus Belli - If you declare war without a valid Causus Belli as determined by the game host then you suffer a Stability hit(see Stability). Causus Bellis are granted by the GH(Me: Lighthearter/LH) for various actions like insulting people in the thread(Diplomatic Insult), expanding into someone else's region(Breached Sphere) or mass-production of heavy military ships(Excessive Militarization). There are others, so watch what you do.
Stability - Stability starts at Level 5. You can research five further levels of Stability to increase your nation's ability to cope with traumatic events. Declaring war without a Causus Belli will remove Stability to a level I think fair considering all the parties and factors involved.
Warfare - If you declare war on an opponent then to attack him you must gather ships at a system then attack one of his. You cannot attack a system from two systems simultaneously. There are two methods of resolving a battle.
1): Dice Combat - All ships in fleets are randomly sorted into a battle line of seven ships and reserves. Then the ships facing each other in the line engage each other. The math for that works like this:
I roll a six-sided die. 1-2 the defender wins and the attacker is hit. 5-6 the reverse. 3-4 both sides avoid damage. This occurs for every pair in the line, every round. After a ship is destroyed, I pull a random ship from reserves into the new breach. This continues until one side hits the casualty threshold that the faction leader has PM'd me, resulting in retreat for that side, the field commander of one side orders a general retreat to preserve his command or one side is obliterated entirely(uncommon).
Favored Enemy and Bad Engagement in Dice Combat - The Favored Enemy and Bad Engagement modifiers apply in Dice Combat as well. If a ship is fighting its favored enemy then the opponent loses one chance to hit in exchange for another chance for the ship with the bonus to. So 1-2 attacker 3-4 draw 5-6 defender becomes 1-2-3 attacker 4-5 draw 6 defender or 1 attacker 2-3 draw 4-5-6 defender.
Bad Engagement exchanges one chance for the unit with the penalty to hit for a chance to draw. I.E. 1-2 attacker 3-4-5 draw 6 defender or 1 attacker 2-3-4 draw 5-6 defender.
2): Tactical Combat - In tactical combat you command your forces on a battle grid I have created and try to outmaneuver the enemy with skill.
When a battle is initiated Lighthearter, or a a player with no stake in the fight if he is a participant volunteers as the host. This person handles all dice rolls. The battle will be fought in the Galactic Empires Combat Thread, where the players involved will manage their ships in battle.
All units take one grid square except Battleships, which take three in a line.
Only 7 units per player at a time. Everything else is in Reserves and can be deployed as units are killed as replacements. Battleships count as two units. Each unit has three Statistics - Offense, Defense and Movement.
Movement:
Battleships can move one square.
Frigates, Destroyers and Cruisers can move two.
Corvettes and Bombers can move 3.
Fighters can move 4.
Offense:
Rating of 1-5, with one being lowest:
- Frigate: 3
- Destroyer: 4
- Cruiser: 3
- Corvette: 2
- Fighters: 1
- Bombers: 2
- Battleship: 5
Defense:
- Frigate: 3
- Destroyer: 4
- Cruiser: 2
- Corvette: 1
- Fighters: 2
- Bombers: 1
- Battleship: 4
These numbers are multipliers to a roll of two six-sided dice.
Attack Range:
- Frigate: 2
- Destroyer: 3
- Cruiser: 2
- Corvette: 1(Adjacent)
- Fighters: 1(Adjacent)
- Bombers: 1(Adjacent)
- Battleship: 4
Favored Enemies are units that this unit counters well, and that is represented by an offense and defense bonus in combat with that unit type:
Frigate>Cruiser(+2)
Destroyer>Corvette(+2)
Corvette>Bomber(+2)
Bomber>Destroyer(+2)
Bomber>Battleship(+4)
Fighter>Bomber(+4)
Cruiser>Battleship(+2)
Destroyer>Frigate(+2)
Battleship>Corvette(+4)
Battleship>Frigate(+4)
Corvette>Fighter(+2)
Bad Engagements are offensive penalties when attacking certain units with certain other units.
Fighter>Battleship(-2)
Bomber>Fighter(-2)
Destroyer>Battleship(-2)
Cruiser>Destroyer(-2)
Battleship>Fighter(-2)
Frigate>Bomber(-2)
Corvette>Cruiser(-2)
These numbers as well are modifiers to rolls of two six-sided dice. Combat is handled like this:
Destroyer attacks Corvette. Roll gets 8. Attack bonus added - 12. Favored Enemy bonus is added - 14. Corvette rolls for defense, gets 6. Adds defense modifier - 7. Destroyer hits and kills Corvette. If the Corvette had gotten a higher number then the Destroyer then neither unit would be dead.
Some units take multiple hits to destroy:
Corvette/Fighter/Bomber: 1
Frigate/Cruiser: 2
Destroyer: 3
Battleship: 6
The Yuuzhan Vong - Eventually the Yuuzhan Vong, a species of extragalactic aliens bent on total conquest of the galaxy, will fly in from the edge of known space and declare war on all existing nations. The NPCs and my nation will all form into the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances at that point as well. You cannot make peace with the Vong of your own accord, though they may request peace with you. The Vong will most likely be played by me, though it is possible that my brother Nukeknockout, a Yuuzhan Vong fan, will take over as them. The initial Yuuzhan Vong fleet will be truly enormous, and their level of technology will be roughly equal to the current galactic level - rounded up. Beware them, and know you will most likely have to work together with your most hated enemies when they arrive - which will be randomized. Will it be turn 3? Or will it be turn 69 when the galaxy is all but united? We'll see . . . .
There's the rules - I'll reserve two posts after this to post a map update and then my nation and its claims, then you can start posting and joining!
May the Force be with you.
And with the map, just right-click the one on this page and "save image as". Name it what you want and then open it with Microsoft Paint. It was edited with that so just color in the white boxes near the worlds you want with your national color. Then imagine up the government and such of your nation, choose your starting techs and build your fleet. After that you're ready to play!
